Trip to the Museum
by girlygirl99
Summary: Percy and Annabeth go to a museum. Percy has a cold. I know the title isn't great, but please read and review. :)


Percy groaned. He had been getting a sore throat the day before, hoping he wasn't getting sick, because he had promised Annabeth that he would go to some museum opening with her, after she had begged him for days. If he told her he was sick, she would probably just think he was trying to get out of it. And he _did_ want to spend the day with Annabeth; he just didn't want to spend the day with her at a museum on the history of architecture while he was sick. On the other hand, he didn't want Annabeth to panic and force Percy back into bed, ruining her big day, no matter how much he hated museums. Meanwhile, his nose was getting more stuffed up every extra minute he spent in bed. Sniffling, Percy sighed and dragged himself out of bed, getting ready for the sure-to-be-long day ahead.

"Heh-choo!" Percy sneezed. He glanced at the clock. Annabeth would be arriving any second now. He gave his nose a few good blows and plopped down on the couch to wait for her.

When Annabeth came over to pick him up, Percy couldn't deny that she looked good. Her curly blonde hair was back in a ponytail, and her owl earrings were dangling down. He smiled. "Hey Annabeth," he said, succeeding in his attempt to pronounce her name normally.

Annabeth grinned back. "Ready to go? Okay great! I'm so excited for this! I've been planning this for ages! So first, we'll go to the museum. Then we'll have lunch at this great Italian place across the street, and then we can go back to the museum, and then if we still have time we can go here and here…" She droned on and on. Percy smiled and nodded appropriately, feeling tired already.

When they finally left, Percy was secretly very relieved to sit down in the taxi that Annabeth expressed distaste for. He had been standing by the door with Annabeth as she mapped out their day for so long, he had started getting a headache. He cleared his throat quietly leaned his head on his hand casually, hoping Annabeth wouldn't notice anything.

Percy's urge to sneeze was building. His nose was tickling slightly, so he rubbed it. He hoped that he wouldn't sound too congested if he talked. "So…" he started, trying to break the awkward silence in the car.

Annabeth glanced over at him. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

Huh. Percy thought he had been doing a pretty good job hiding his cold from her. His voice certainly hadn't gone hoarse or stuffy yet, but maybe Annabeth knew him too well. He smiled and said, "Of course." And he turned back to staring at the window, fighting the growing urge to sneeze.

When they finally arrived at Poseidon-knows-where, Percy practically leaped out of the taxi, inhaling the non-taxi air. There had been a couple of almost lost battles with his nose. As he stood by Annabeth while she bought the tickets, he could feel a sneeze coming, and decided to do nothing about it. He was too tired to hold it back any longer. Hopefully Annabeth wouldn't think anything of it. He ducked his head. "Heh-kschoo! Heh-choo!" Percy sniffled into his arm and sighed.

"Percy?"

Great. She'd noticed.

Annabeth POV

Percy was looking tired today. He hadn't been talking much back in the apartment, when she was babbling on about their day. Since he hadn't been offering much conversation, she had just been trying to fill the silence until she decided they should just get in the taxi and go. Then in the taxi, he was just leaning against the taxi door, not talking or anything. He looked a bit pale too, and his nose was a bit pink. She didn't want to point anything out, though; Percy would just try that much harder to hide whatever it was he was thinking about.

While she was buying the tickets, she heard Percy sneeze twice. Poor Percy. She should have known he was sick. His quiet manner today should have suggested that. He had probably been trying to protect her grand plans for the day, but all Annabeth had wanted was to spend some alone time with Percy. Truthfully, she wouldn't have minded taking care of him, but now they were already at the museum...

"Percy? Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Annabeth knew he wasn't. Saying it like that was the polite thing to do though.

Percy sighed. "Ndot really. I think I have a cold." Shocker.

"Well, we're already at the museum, so I think we should just stay here, and then if you feel really terrible, we can go home. How's that?" That seemed pretty reasonable. Although Annabeth wasn't exactly sure Percy would admit it if he wasn't feeling up to trooping around a museum for 8 hours.

"Mmhmm," Percy mumbled. He coughed into his arm.

They walked slowly around the museum for a few hours. Annabeth easily forgot that Percy was sick and tired when she saw something interesting, and immediately launched into a long spiel about whatever it was. Meanwhile, Percy's sneezes were becoming more and more frequent, and Annabeth noticed that he didn't sound all too well, so she suggested they go back to his apartment. Percy said he wasn't feeling up to walking around for much longer, so they went back home to Percy's apartment, where he collapsed gratefully onto the couch.

"I thindk I'mb gondna take a nap," he said, rubbing his nose to prevent a sneeze. It didn't work. "Heh-choo!" Percy groaned and cleared his throat. All this sneezing was making his throat sorer.

Annabeth frowned, concerned, but brought him pillows, a blanket, and a box of tissues she found in the bathroom. Percy blew his nose gratefully, attempting to clear the congestion. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and he wasn't able to sleep easily, considering that it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe through his nose. Finally, he settled for wrapping himself in a blanket and reading a book next to Annabeth, while she did the same.

"Heh-shoo!" Percy sneezed for what seemed like the 50th time that day. He sighed and leaned back against Annabeth, rubbing his nose. It was getting a big sore and tickly from all the blowing and rubbing though. Walking around for hours certainly hadn't helped his cold either, and now he just felt tired and wanted to sleep. After one or two hours, he decided to just close his eyes and rest against her. Sleeping sitting up was better than not sleeping at all, he thought tiredly. Annabeth smiled as she noticed her tired and sick boyfriend drifting off to sleep beside her, hoping he would feel better. His light snoring was oddly peaceful and soothing, and finding her eyes wanting to close, she too soon fell asleep.


End file.
